Celebrating the Winter Solstice

Our Winter Solstice is officially at 03:27 on the 22nd December 2023 when our sun is at its lowest point.  We will have just 7 hours & 42 minutes of sunlight in London. The solstice starts the astronomical winter on the 21st or 22nd of December (the dates change). There is a always a confusion between astronomical & the meteorological winter (1st December - 28th February) 

Solstice means "the sun stood still" from Solstitium in Latin & it seems so on the Winter Solstice which marks our shortest day & longest night of the year.   Our light slowly returns at 4 minutes a day from this midwinters day. 

This is how I marked some previous ones 

2011 solstice 

2012 solstice 

2013 solstice 

2014 solstice 

2017 solstice 

2018 solstice 

2020 solstice 

2022 solstice simmer pot 

It is the time where I bring in more fresh greens like Holly & Ivy, our traditional ones celebrated in the Carol. 

Midwinter was a time when our agrarian ancestors would huddle close to the fire,  observing the changes in nature & conserving food & energy for the long days. Their lives were punctuated by the seasons for survival. A poor, icy winter was fatal to many. 

Candle light brightens up the dark days so I make sure to light a few more to bring in the light. Mid winter is also a time to rest, become more reflective, & to listen more - the silence speaks to those who hear it ... 

Do you pause to reflect on our changing seasons? It is hard to take a step back in Midwinter because it is overtaken by the frenetic pace of the festive season. However, take a few minutes to just be still & reflect on all that is good in your life ... 

Thank you for your visit, 

Dee 🌲🕯️🪴

Welcome Winter Solstice

Today marks the Winter Solstice & this Christmas carol comes to mind:

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow
In the bleak midwinter, long ago

The carol is based on a poem by Christina Rossetti & it was published in January 1872 under the title of 'A Christmas Carol.’

This must not be confused with A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - written 175 years ago & an absolutely Christmas must with its strong message ... 

Darkness comes early now before 4pm in the afternoon, it is already pitch dark.  However, the darkness just means that the lovely Christmas lights glow even more brightly ... 

The Holly & The Ivy is another carol which is reminiscent of this time of the year: 

The Holly & the Ivy
When they are both full grown
Of all the trees that are in the wood
The holly bears the crown
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir

I love to have greenery & candles in the home in Winter - it helps to mark the changing seasons as our Druid ancestors did before the Winter Solstice became part of our traditions.

So today marks our shortest day & it is a welcome day because the light will return now, a little each day.

This is how we marked the solstice in previous years at home:

2011 happy-winter-solstice-day

2012 mid-winter-solstice-time

2013 happy-winter-solstice-day

2014 midwinter-solstice-time

2017 happy-winter-solstice-light-returns

I will probably do this again - a Fire Releasing Ceremony  - write down what you want to ‘release’ on a paper then gather around a fire (a chimnea for us) and throw your paper on one at a time to release that part. The papers contents are not shared, they are just a private thought written down to be released.

As the rush of the festive season gathers momentum,  I like this thought:

Wise sayings often fall on barren ground, but a kind word is never thrown away.

However you observe the Solstice, the seasons retain their rhythm that punctuates our year. The darkness of Winter will soon give way to the soft light of Spring with its colour & light, but for now, I will bring light & greenness in to my home to honour Winter. May you feel the warmth of the low winter light, enjoy the silence that Winter brings & just breath as you enjoy the ebb & flow of the seasons.

Have a lovely Solstice day, thank you for your company

Dee ~💕~

Happy Winter Solstice - the light returns ...

I am a look at the sunrise / sunset / moon / rain type of person - I love the way we interact with nature & events & how their rhythm punctuates our life.

Today marks our astrological event of the Winter Solstice - our shortest day & the start of our winter in the northern hemisphere.  It is a pagan holiday that coincides with our festive season & it includes many familiar observances of yule logs, mistletoe, evergreen trees,  holly & ivy as symbols of everlasting life to Druids.

This is how I have observed it at home in 2011,  in 2012, in 2013, in 2014

Our nights have drawn in & the darkness is very evident  as our sun will rise at 8: 03 & set at 15:53 - 7 hours & 50 minutes on daylight only.

Many cultures celebrate the Winter Solstice in various ways.  Many use the winter solstice to reconnect & reflect as the season darkens & changes. Our tree glows warmly in the darkness.

I think this is what I will be doing again this winter solstice:

Fire releasing day

Everyone writes a note on what wish they would like to release & then everyone gathers around a fire & throws their paper on to burn 'release' their wish, while participating in quiet reflection & gratitude.

We all wrote something we would like to change & on the reverse, something we wished for & then gathered around the chimnea to release our wishes  before joining together to eat .... 

However you choose to observe the solstice, consciously or otherwise, know that the rhythm of life continues & you are an important part of it.  It is a good time to just reconnect with nature, to just breath & step back from the commercialism of the holiday season, to reflect on what is really important.  Light a candle, or a few to ward off the darkness of the Winter Solstice & reflect ...

May you feel the warmth of the light of the Winter Solstice, take a moment to just breath & enjoy the silence of the darkness.

Be blessed friends, thank you for your company at this busy time of the year,
Dee ~♥~

Marking the Winter Solstice

 

Our days are much shorter with dawn coming later & night coming earlier. 

It is the time to 'nest' when you can, to take stock as the year winds down to Christmas. 

I like to bring in fresh greenery in to the home - fir, holly, ivy, pine cones & my garland is up on the front door to welcome in visitors too. 

I went in to the woods last weekend to forage & came out with a handful of gorgeous fallen branches. 

I have tied them up in to a swag & put them on the patio chimnea that faces the house so they can be seen from the windows. 

The taller branches are in the funnel of the chimnea, along with the autumn ones I picked up some weeks before from the same woods. 

They are a visual link to nature & my love of forests & woods. 

There is something very therapeutic about spending time in woods or forests, the smell of pines, of gentle sounds of nature & being able to pick up some branches - it is an important connection. 

The Winter Solstice marks the shortest day & the longest night of the year, when darkness abounds & the light will slowly start to return again.  

This is how I have marked the Winter Solstice previously 

It is a good time to reconnect with nature & the natural rhythm of the season. Bringing in natural greenery is important too - less faux, more real. 

This time is also known as Yule, or Modranight (Mother Night), or Midwinter - it is the gentle pause in the seasons.

Norse & some Anglo Saxon cultures celebrate the influence of Mothers on this night, their wisdom & lineage remembered, their stories told so they are not forgotten. It is a lovely tradition. 

This is some of my female ancestors who had a big influence on my life. I am so fortunate to have several generational photos of my maternal line ... 

I like to do a simmer pot of winter scents at Solstice to fill the home with fresh fragrance & light candles to mark the return of the light. A dark cycle completing ... 

These are the herbs associated with the Winter Solstice. 

 I look forward to the light slowly returning but I also love the dark nights when homes are lit by gentle lights over the festive season. 

Thank you for stopping by & visiting with me, 

Dee 🕯️🌲🍁🪾🔥

Summer Solstice is here again …

Time marches on & the Summer Solstice is almost upon us again.

I love the rhythm of the seasons, watching how things change & develop in my environment. It gives a timelessness to life.  The Summer Solstice marks the midpoint & the date varies between the 20-22 June - this year it falls on the 21st.

On this day, the sun is always visible for longer in the sky as it tracks from north of east to north of west across our skies - our longest day of the year!  Today has been rather wet & sunless so hopefully that will clear for the solstice day …

It was suggested by a student that it is a good idea to make a green flower wreath from the garden - that sounds like fun & I might very well do it …

It is a good time to light the chimnea in the garden,  burn some candles in lanterns & just enjoy the primitive connection we have to fire. I like to add herbs from the garden to the fire to fragrance the air.

I have a personal tradition of writing a wish or regret I want to banish on a paper then burning it in the fire  - I think that will be done again.

I also like to celebrate by eating wholesome,  natural food outdoors in the fresh air surrounded by the  green garden with birds hopping about - fruit kebabs are a wonderful way to celebrate food.

This is one of my daughters A wondering Star's fruit drinks - that is what is needed!

Tonight we had a beautiful sunset , I hope our Solstice sunrise will be as lovely.

Do you observe the changing seasons? Will you be looking forward to the longer days that await us (for a while only)?

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment,
Dee ~♥~

A Winter Solstice simmer pot

 Hi all, hope you are all managing to find some calm amidst the rush, slow down, take a moment to enjoy the rhythm of nature & the gentle passing of the year ... 

We have reached our shortest day today - the Winter Solstice falls on the 21st December this year & we will have reached the tipping point of Winter.  It is a time I like to connect with nature & to just ground myself amidst the busyness of the festive season. 

This is how I have marked the solstice in previous years at home:  

2011 

2012 

2013 

2014 

2017 

it in 2018 

I am always reminded of the traditional things associated with midwinter - the Carol - In the Bleak midwinter .... 

Charles Dicken's story of A Christmas Carol with Ebenezer Scrooge etc

Of the Holly & the Ivy carol - traditional greenery brought in to the home at this time, a pagan tradition that is very apt as most people hang a fresh wreath on their front door & drape holly over picture frames etc. 

Crowds will once again gather at Stonehenge to witness the Winter Solstice as is traditional amongst the pagans here. It is a time honoured tradition ... 

This time I am minded to do a simmer pot to freshen the house with festive scents for Solstice - a sort of cleaning of the air. We do not use any artificial air fresheners so natural fragrances (pomanders, potpourri etc) 

I gathered sliced oranges, cloves, cinnamon sticks, sprigs of fresh rosemary & sage,  a few star anise, a whole nutmeg and a splash of vanilla & added them to a pot, covered the contents with water, brought it to a gentle simmer, then let the scent waft through the house. This is a traditional method. 

What spices or items would you add that remind you of mid Winter?  Tomorrow I will pick fresh hedgerow Holly & Ivy & bring it in to the house, probably humming a familiar carol as I do that ... 

Thank you for stopping by at this busy time, we have passed the darkest of our winter,  the light returns as every day it will become lighter again. 

Dee ~💕~

Happy Winter Solstice day ....

The Winter solstice always brings hope that we are half way through winter & our long, dark days will start to lighten again.

I gazed upon the moon early this morning over our tree & hedge, a very calming scene.

We had a family breakfast today - toasted chocolate panetone with fruit & yoghurt & freshly brewed filter coffee.

The late sunrises & early sunsets will slowly swap over & the low arc of the sun across our skies will change too.

The word solstice comes from  the Latin words 'sol' for 'sun' & 'sisto' for 'stop' - the sun 'stands still' , it stops moving southwards & begins to move northwards again.

The Solstice reminds me of the ebb & flow of life - the cycle of life that we are part of.

Today I celebrate the return of the sun to our northern Hemisphere with greenery to welcome visitors & link to nature. Our evergreen holly trees remain all year, our door wreath is a gift once again & symbolises gratitude & a circle of life ...

We will light lanterns  at home tonight to bring in light; light & greenery honour nature & these rituals give meaning to life & connect us all.

My chimnea is stacked with wood from my own garden for winter fires & I love this idea I came across ...

Fire releasing day

Everyone writes a note on what wish they would like to release & then everyone gathers around a fire & throws their paper on to burn 'release' their wish, while participating in quiet reflection & gratitude.

However you choose to observe the solstice - consciously or otherwise - know that the rhythm of life continues & you are part of it.

Thanks for stopping by, light a lantern or candle tonight to be one with nature ...
Dee ~♥~

Marking our Summer Solstice …

 And just like that, we have arrived at our summer solstice on the 21st June.  Longer brighter days are here with late sunsets & lazy evenings as the sun is reluctant to set until almost 10pm soon. The darkness is banished for a time & we have to embrace the light & colour. 

My garden is bursting with colour & even though I try to keep to pinks, purples & blues, the reds & hot colours appear too like punctuation marks in the garden. 

It is a space we love being in. Our large tree provides much welcome shade on hot days & cools the air at night so the breeze in the house provides welcome relief. 

This green space is calming & I feel a little smug that I am doing my but for the wildlife who make themselves at home  Green spaces cool urban heat islands so it is great for the environment too.

I made an iced lemon verbena tea today with herbs from the garden & sat in my green space, grateful for blessings. 

On the Solstice, I always reflect on the past 6 months & decide in my head how I want the rest of the year to be. Set intentions as the light returns in its full power for summer. I think having supper by candlelight is always good as the flickering light is gentle & provides space to think. I am hosting friends tomorrow on Solstice Day with fresh food & lots of candles. 

So much can change in the 6 months to the next solstice in the dark mid-winter so use this time to enjoy nature & the longer days, commit to self care & gratitude for all the things that are right in your life. Gratitude begets gratitude. 

Thank you for stopping by & visiting. Celebrate the solstices - be it summer or winter where you are. 

Dee 🌱🥗🏡☀️🌤️

Happy Summer Solstice

 Today marks our longest day,  & is an important part of the ritual of time. The sun will rise at 4.52am  and set at 9.26pm, giving us 16 hours & 38 minutes of sunlight / daylight.  

The Solstice marks the beginning of the astronomical summer. The word ‘solstice’ comes from the latin word meaning ‘sun standing still’ which is a good description of how the day will seem to hang around. 

Pagans mark this day, often at Stonehenge because they believe mid summer has special significance.  

People used to light fires to keep the dark & bad spirits away.

Some of the folklore sayings associated with mid summer

One swallow never made a summer

When the summer birds take flight, there goes the summer with them

Welcome summer, the long days & short nights are very welcome after a long winter. 

Some previous blogs on this day:

summer solstice 2015

I will light candles tonight for my light, unfortunately there is no sun today which would have given us brightness. 

However, this weekend we have been out taking photos of very summery scenes in Shropshire - the poppy & daisies in the fields 

Beautiful, lush green fields amongst green trees 

Thank you for your time; each & every visit & comment is much appreciated, be safe all  💖

Dee ~💕~

A perfect Solstice meal for hot weather ...

 I love to take my time over preparing a pretty table & menu for friends, even if it is a relaxed meal. It says someone has taken time over & given thought to many things like the weather (summer hot), the season (summer solstice) and the friends visiting.  

Using coloured glass brings in a freshness to a table setting & I enjoy using mine. It is not dishwasher proof so they are all rinsed by hand, a small price to pay for enjoying them. 

For the Summer Solstice,  my menu harked back to living in Africa & hot summers travelling in Europe ... 

This is what I made - 

Spatchcock chicken - with a zingy lemon, lime & ginger marinade, it always cooks better this way

New potatoes with lots of mint from the garden to give them that minty summer freshness 

Carrot & pineapple salad with an orange dressing - a summer favourite in Africa, made ahead so it is cold & refreshing. I did not add currants because not everyone eats them 

Green salad with cucumber, mange tout, green beans, tiny pepper rings, feta, radish, home made black pepper & thyme croutons. Salad bits served separately for choice because of guests preferences

Shopska salad (I enjoyed this in Sofia in Bulgaria) diced tomato, cucumber, peppers, red onion, feta, red wine vinaigrette . I added a little honey to take off the sharpness & made it ahead of time for flavours to develop ... 

 

A traditional Bulgarian restaurant & menu in Sofia on our trip across Transylvania. This very traditional restaurant was close to our hotel & it had beautiful authentic decor. 

Shopska salad was regularly served with our meals across Belgrade, Sofia, Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo & Arbanasi 

It was all absolutely delicious & light enough for a very hot summers evening while we mulled over how the first half of the year had been.  No year is without challenges & changes; it is how we ride the storms so they don't engulf us. 

We all agreed that it has been too hot for anything other than lots of salads with meat or fish, with jugs of iced water or tea.  

Pudding / desert was a British classic of Eton Mess. It is strawberry season &  they were just ripe.  

I made a mixed berry compote ahead of time to drizzle over it all & add that softness that is needed. 

All prepared ahead of the time & everyone assembled theirs as they liked. 

We decided on a refreshing mango sorbet instead of ice-cream.  It always looks better served in glass bowls  & these coloured vintage ones are perfect with their deep bowl. 

We took our pudding out on the patio to catch the early evening breeze - easy enough to enjoy outdoors in the cool softening light. 

 We enjoyed my friend's freshly baked lemon drizzle cake to finish it off - a lovely evening just catching up while the candles burnt low. 

The conservatory sideboard is the perfect place to set up & serve such meals from - convenient for everyone to help themselves to what takes their fancy & to return for seconds. 

This space is used the most for meals with its views over the garden & wide doors to catch the breeze too. 

I hope the next 6 months to the Winter Solstice is as blessed for everyone. Thank you for stopping by, each & every visit is appreciated. 

Dee ☀️🥗🏡💚

Bring light in on the Winter Solstice ...

 In the bleak Midwinter, was a poem published in 1872 by the poet Christina Rossetti & in 1906, the composer Gustav Holst (of The Planets fame) set it to the music we know so well now. 

In the bleak midwinter 

BY CHRISTINA ROSSETTI

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,

In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

The Winter Solstice marks our day with the shortest daylight & the longest night. Stonehenge was always our central observance place 

The shortest day lasts 7 hours 49 minutes and 42 seconds in London 

The light will return again as the days lengthen & the light will return. This is some of the previous posts on the Solstice in 2018 

There are links to the previous Winter Solstice rituals at my home. 

I will bring in the light again with candles about the house,  the holly & ivy on the door wreath & garlands, a reminder of the times past when it was common to bring greenery inside. 

Have a blessed day as you observe the ritual of Winter & the darkness & light - the returning light is hope for brighter days, for the familiar seasons, for light ... 

Thank you for your company, each & every visit & comment is much appreciated, 

Dee ~💕~